


Regret (Via Monopoly)

by osterac1999



Series: Realizations [1]
Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Feelings Realization, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Monopoly (Board Game), New Year's Eve, Pining, Sappy, jeremy heere is a dummy, jeremy pining in my fic???? more like than you think, regret via monopoly, regret via something else ;), there is no hurt today folks, unfair team-ups in monopoly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-25
Updated: 2017-09-25
Packaged: 2019-01-05 12:05:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12189669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/osterac1999/pseuds/osterac1999
Summary: A year ago, he wouldn’t have pictured himself at Chloe Valentine’s New Year’s bash. Certainly not sitting with his back against the couch, watching everyone- including himself- try desperately to gain all the properties they could in Monopoly. Laughing along with everyone else as Jake landed on Boardwalk, and sighing as he handed over a fifty to Brooke, who smiled innocently. Nope, hadn’t expected this.





	Regret (Via Monopoly)

**Author's Note:**

> Forewarning, this is sappy as all fuck. Also, no, this isn't orionverse. It actually follows canon. Alternatively titled: Jeremy Heere Needs a Sugar Daddy. (Props to Jamie for that one.)

A year ago, he wouldn’t have pictured himself at Chloe Valentine’s New Year’s bash. Certainly not sitting with his back against the couch, watching everyone- including himself- try desperately to gain all the properties they could in Monopoly. Laughing along with everyone else as Jake landed on Boardwalk, and sighing as he handed over a fifty to Brooke, who smiled innocently. Nope, hadn’t expected this.

 

Eventually, the game devolved into blatant bribery and team-ups. Jake and Chloe seemed to have a silent conversation, ending in them shaking hands and everyone else’s hearts dropping. They might not have had Boardwalk or Park Place, but Chloe easily had two monopolies to herself, and Jake owned the all of the railroads somehow. Jeremy silently cursed Rich for handing his railroad over so quickly. They began ruling the board, convincing people left and right to hand over their places when mortgaging wouldn’t work.

 

“ _Fuck,_ ” Jeremy muttered as he landed- _again_ \- on New York Ave. How was he _always_ one number too short to hit Free Parking? He glared at Michael as he snickered. “What?”

 

“How the fuck are you this unlucky?” At Jeremy’s deadpan, he chuckled. “I’m being one-hundred percent serious, dude.”

 

He glanced over apologetically at Jenna as he passed over almost all of his money. She pinched the bridge of her nose and gave him the most exasperated look she could muster. He smiled sheepishly and turned back to Michael, changing his expression into a glare. “Fuck off.” He said, shoving his shoulder a bit.

 

“Hey, don’t get mad that you can’t manage to keep your money.” Michael said, as if he hadn’t gone bankrupt _before_ the teams were created. He was an active participant, though, by encouraging Brooke.

 

“Real funny coming from you. You dropped out within the first thirty by landing on _our_ properties.” Rich added, waving a hand between where he and Christine sat. She smiled innocently as she tidied up their money stacks again, counting them out quietly.

 

Michael snorted. “I’ll have you know that I’m an _excellent_ coach. Right, cookie?” He turned expectantly to her and she smiled back.

 

“Of course, Micah. I wouldn’t have Park Place if you hadn’t handed it over. I’ll win as an alive competitor, and you’ll win as a ghost coach.” She laughed at the incredulous look on Jake’s face.

 

“Brooke, you _aren’t_ going to win. Me and Chloe?” He gestured between the two of them with a thumb. “We’ve got this in the bag.”

 

Jeremy surveyed the board again. Chloe and Jake had a monopoly on the orange and green properties, had almost all of the red ones, _and_ held every railroad because Rich was a dumbass. The only ones stopping them were Rich and Christine, who held monopolies over the orange and pink properties and kept the last red property selfishly to themselves. Jenna and Jeremy got the really short end of the stick, with no monopolies over _anything_. They only had one of the companies, and two of the light blue properties. Brooke held the rest, thanks to Michael. What made her _actually_ scary was the dark blue monopoly, which even the dream team of Chloe and Jake feared.

 

“I don’t know…” Michael drawled as he leaned into Brooke’s side. Jeremy felt a twinge of… _something_ before it disappeared into the ether. He frowned. He’d been noticing more of that lately, but he couldn’t figure out what it meant. “Brooke does have Boardwalk _and_ Park Place.”

 

Chloe took the dice and began shaking them. “Pfft. She can’t do shit to stop us, not even with her hotels.” She threw down the dice and swore (quiet loudly) when they revealed a five. “Fuck. Please don’t land on it.” She pleaded.

 

Brooke began cackling as Jake solemnly began moving the piece. Jeremy and Michael began humming a funeral march as it plunked solidly onto Boardwalk. “Yes!” She yelled as she threw her hands up. “I can’t believe you managed to jinx yourself _and_ land on the highest paying property. Pay up!” She sing-songed.

 

“Chloe, I can’t fucking believe this.” He said, as he handed over the $1700.

 

She threw her hands up in exasperation. “What the fuck do you want me to do? Pretend I _didn’t_ roll a five in front of six witnesses?” She crossed her arms and huffed, leaning into the armchair behind her.

 

“You don’t get to roll the dice anymore.” Jeremy could almost hear her mutter, ‘fucking fine’.

 

They continued on for a bit until it was Jeremy’s and Jenna’s turn again. He could tell she was seriously regretting shucking her piece in order to be on his team. He knew she had _thought_ he was going to win, since he had the most money at the time. How the tides have changed. He rolled the dice and cringed as they landed on double sixes.

 

“Jeremy, I swear to God.” Jenna stared blankly at the board as he resolutely moved their piece. “Why are you like this- we _lost_!” She yelled, nearly upturning the board before Rich held her back.

 

“I, uh, sorry?” He spluttered as he handed over the rest of their money. Chloe grinned smugly at him and he stuck his tongue out. Damn their team. Why couldn’t he actually have rolled one short for once? He would’ve preferred jail over Jenna’s glare.

 

Jenna groaned and flopped sideways onto the carpet. “I can’t believe we lost.” Rich gave her a little pat on the shoulder, not looking sympathetic at all. 

 

_He could at least try,_ he thought as he got up. He stretched his cramped legs and began making his way toward the kitchen. He heard a yell from the group of things to get but he blatantly ignored them and began collecting his own snacks. When he collected them, he went out onto the patio and just… sat. Trying not to think of anything. _Anything_ being the strange knot in his stomach he’s had ever since he got there.

 

He wondered why he had been anxious all night- wait, no. If he was being honest, he’d been anxious since he had heard about this party. And it wasn’t anxious like his friends would reject him or something, it was more… trepidation? Maybe excitement? At the prospect of what could happen.

 

What _could_ happen?

 

It’s not like he had a crush to kiss, as far as he knew. He had gotten over Christine months ago, when she broke up with him. She had said it was because their relationship wasn’t based in the healthiest place- meaning the SQUIP had too much influence over it. He couldn’t blame her, and if he was being honest… he was a bit relieved.

 

Which made no sense, right? He’d been _pining_ after this girl for years and when he finally began dating her… it didn’t feel right. It wasn’t like they weren’t compatible- they had tons of common interests and could joke and tease each other with the best of them. They just worked better as friends. He suspected Christine had never actually had true romantic feelings for him in the first place.

 

He suspected he hadn’t either.

 

Which made him feel like a complete moron. He had gotten an abusive, defective Facebook app so he could get with Christine. _Only_ for him to not actually want to be with her. What the fuck, Jeremy? Everything they had gone through was a complete and utter fucking waste.

 

He’d irrevocably changed everything at their school for what? A few weeks of dating his ‘dream’ girl? Or was it the damaged relationship with-

 

Jeremy was interrupted from his thoughts as he felt a warm hand on his shoulder. “You good?” Michael asked, worry clear on his face. He instinctively leaned into the touch, practically _melted_ into it.

 

“Yeah, I’m good.” He said, ignoring the weird fluttering in his stomach. Honestly, what the fuck was up with that?

 

Michael hummed. “Sounds fake, but okay.” He took his hand off his shoulder and Jeremy instantly missed the warmth. He leaned into the railing next to him and looked at him expectantly.

 

“What?”

 

“You wouldn’t have just left if something wasn’t 

 

bothering you.” He stated firmly. “I know you _way_ too well to fall for any bullshit.”

 

“Michael, I’m fine. I just didn’t want Jenna to murder me for losing.” Michael pursed his lips at that. Jeremy gave him a look. “Seriously.”

 

He sighed and leaned even more into the railing. “Ugh. Fine. I believe you.” Jeremy could almost hear the _but I’m worried_. At the thought, his heart fluttered and he almost wanted to clutch his chest. He didn’t, though, because he didn’t want it to seem like he was having a heart attack.

 

“You don’t have to worry about me like you’re my mom, you know. That’s what we have Christine for.” As he said that, he heard a yell from inside. It looked like Christine’s and Rich’s luck avoiding the big monopolies had finally run out.

 

Michael snorted. “Yeah, I know. I just worry about a lot of shit, you know that.”

 

“Don’t I know it.”

 

“Oh, fuck you.” He said as he playfully shoved Jeremy. He was slowly becoming used to the constant fluttering.

 

They sat in companionable silence for a while until Jeremy’s phone began chiming. He looked at the the time and almost dropped it in shock. It was a 11:55, where the _fuck_ had that last half hour gone?

 

“Oh, shit.” He said eloquently as he tried to rush back inside. He was stopped by Michael’s arm, and he turned to his best friend, confused. “...uh?”

 

“Can we just…” He ran a hand through his hair and Jeremy was transfixed by the motion. How hadn’t he noticed how soft Michael’s hair looked? Or how nice it looked when there wasn’t gel gooping up the entire mess? He was so transfixed, in fact, that he missed the last half of the question.

 

“S-sorry, repeat that?” Why did he stutter? Why was he _nervous_? What the fuck.

 

“I asked if we could just stay out here for the last-” He glanced at his phone. “-the last four minutes? Just the two of us.” Jeremy vaguely remembered himself using the same line when he asking Christine out. He felt an odd sort of trepidation at that. “Are you sure you’re okay, man? You’ve been spacing out a lot lately.”

 

He was about to answer, when Michael stepped closer, bringing a hand to his forehead. His breath hitched and he prayed to whatever was listening that Michael hadn’t noticed. The gross fluttering got worse until it almost made Jeremy feel sick when Michael grabbed the sides of his face. He stood frozen as Michael backed away again, an odd note of anger at himself for not somehow keeping him there.

 

“You’re not hot or anything... Dude, seriously. You can tell me if something’s up.” He grimaced. “Even if it has something to do with me. I’d fuck right off if you told me to.”

 

“Wh- _what_?” Jeremy asked, voice cracking on the word. He blushed, but continued on. “Why would it have something to do with you?”

 

“Well, uh, first of all, you only get this weird and spacey when I’m around. I’ve seen you be completely normal around Christine and Rich. When I’m not _there_.” He glared at the ground before hesitantly meeting Jeremy’s eyes. “Did I do something wrong?”

 

“No. Nononono.” Jeremy began waving his hands in front of him. _Goddammit_. What was _wrong_ with him? “I’ve just been feeling weird lately and I don’t know what’s happening! I’m sorry that I made you think it was your fault, but it’s _not_ , okay? It’s all me. It’s always-”

 

“Woah. Cool it.” Michael interrupted. He placed a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back slightly so he was sitting against the railing. “It’s cool. We’re cool. It’s all… _cool_.” Jeremy smiled a bit at the blatant avoidance of ‘chill’. 

 

“And I thought you were in AP Lang.” He said sarcastically, nudging Michael in the stomach. He got an unimpressed look in return.

 

“Do you want me to write a five page paper on why you need to calm down for a hot minute? Twelve point font with MLA citations?” He asked, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

 

“I’ll only accept Times New Roman.” Jeremy replied resolutely.

 

“Wow. Basic English paper choice. I’m disappointed.” He deadpanned. They sat in silence for a second before they both cracked up. When they both calmed down, he felt a stab of satisfaction that Michael hadn’t removed his arm.

 

He glanced at his phone again and noticed they had a minute left. He could practically feel all of Chloe’s neighbors getting ready to shoot off some fireworks. He leaned more into Michael, who pulled him closer. They chanted along with the yells from inside until the reached the fifteen second mark. Jeremy pulled himself away and stared at Michael.

 

He couldn’t see his eyes, since the moon and stars reflected brightly off his glasses, but he could tell he was looking at him. They smiled hugely as the yelling increased in volume as they chanted along with them.

 

_Ten._

 

Jeremy caught what he thought was Michael’s eye.

 

_Nine._

 

Michael gave him an even brighter smile, which he flushed at.

 

_Eight._

 

Jeremy reached out and offered his hand to Michael, even as the fluttering increased to an almost unbearable amount.

 

_Seven._

 

He took the offered hand and laced their fingers together.

 

_Six._

 

Michael turned to look out at the sky, waiting for fireworks.

 

_Five._

 

Jeremy couldn’t turn away from him.

 

_Four._

 

The brightness of the moon gave him an ethereal glow.

 

_Three._

 

How had he not noticed how _beautiful_ Michael was?

 

_Two._

 

He wanted Michael to turn back around and kiss him.

 

_One._

 

Oh, _fuck._

 

“Zero!” Michael shouted, while Jeremy dazedly thought back on what he had been feeling for weeks. It all made complete sense. Fuck.

 

As the fireworks started, he turned back to Jeremy and hugged him tightly. He melted into it despite the cacophony of feelings bombarding him right then. 

 

“I’m so glad I have you.” He whispered.

 

“I’d be nothing without you.” He replied. _I love you_ kept repeating in his head, begging to be said.

 

Michael snorted. “Sure you’d be. Maybe not as awesome if you hadn’t met me, but you’d be something.”

 

“Makes me feel _so_ much better.” He tried to keep the joking tone, but he knew it was quickly slipping. “Let’s head back inside.” He suggested as he gently untangled himself from the hug.

 

“Yeah.” He saw something flicker in Michael’s eyes, but it passed so quickly he was sure he’d imagined it. Michael quickly stepped in front of him and opened the sliding door.

 

Jeremy followed back into the living room. Everyone greeted them as they entered, and Rich gave Jeremy a suggestive eyebrow wiggle. When he flushed, Rich’s eyes widened a smidge before a smirk played across his mouth. He looked like he was about to comment, but Jeremy shook his head a tiny bit, mouth in a grim line. He got a questioning stare in response and shook his head once again. He needed time to process all of… _this._

 

Well. Really. He didn’t.

 

He was in love with his best friend and if he _really_ thought about it, he had been for a long time. Longer than he had liked Christine, anyway.

 

Why was he so fucking oblivious to his own feelings?

 

He wanted to curl into a ball right then and there. He glanced to Michael and decided that, no, that wasn’t the best idea since he was already worried about him. He put on the most convincing ‘totally fine’ expression he could, ignored Rich’s curiosity and sat back down next to Michael.

 

Jeremy watched as he leaned into Brooke and recognized the tightness in his chest as jealousy. It wasn’t like the two were dating or _would_ date, seeing as Michael was gay, but… he couldn’t help the little ache their closeness brought him. It wasn’t like they weren’t close- they were plenty close! Michael just didn’t… lean into him like that normally. Like he depended on Jeremy to give him something he couldn’t get on his own.

 

He pushed down the feelings as far as they could go. He’d examine everything later. For now, he’d just pretend he hadn’t had the biggest realization of his life.

 

No problem.

 

He glanced over just in time to see Michael hunched over and cackling about something Brooke said, and his stomach twisted. Who gave him the right to have such a beautiful laugh? Who gave him the right to be this amazing?

 

Okay. Scratch that. This was a huge problem.

 

_Fuck._

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!!!! I wanted fluff and Jamie demanded it from me after...my last squip fic. So!! Jeremy is fucking stupid and we all knew that. Also, who was regret via something else ;) anyway? Who knows. It's an enigma.
> 
> If y'all want to yell at me or maybe even request shit my tumblr is @cuddlehoe.
> 
> <3 <3


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